Skylab SL-4 / SKYLAB III (manned) |
USA |
International Flight nº: 49 |
Earth orbit Flight nº: 47 |
USA launch Flight nº: 30 |
Launch, orbit & landing data:
| Designation | 06936 / 73090A |
| Launch date - time | 16 Nov 1973 - 14:01:23 UT |
| Launch site | KSC, LC39B |
| Launch vehicle |
Saturn 1B (Sa-208) |
| Payload | Apollo CSM 118 |
| Size (m) | 10.36 long - 3.91 dia |
| Mass (kg) | 20847 |
| Call Sign | Skylab |
| Backup crew | Brand, Lenoir, Lind |
| Orbital parameters on 16 Nov: |
| - Perigee / Apogee | 154 / 224 km |
| - Inclination | 50.04° |
| - Period | 88.22 min |
| Landing date - time | 08 Feb 1974 - 15:16:57 UT |
| Landing location | 25° N, 159° W
325 km southwest of San Diego in Pacific Ocean |
| Prime Recovery Ship | USS New Orleans (LPH 11) |
| Flight Duration (d:hr:min) | 84:01:15 |
| Nbr orbits | 1214 |
| EVA Duration | |
|
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Flight Crew:
| Nr. |
Surname |
Given name |
Job |
Duration |
Orbits |
| 1 |
Carr |
Gerald Paul |
CDR |
84d 01h 15m |
1214 |
| 2 |
Gibson |
Edward Galen, Jr. |
PLT |
84d 01h 15m |
1214 |
| 3 |
Pogue |
William Reid |
PLT |
84d 01h 15m |
1214 |
 Skylab 4 crew: Carr, Gibson and Pogue. |
 Skylab as seen from the the CSM of the Skylab 4 crew. |
Flight:
Summary: Launch delayed for six days from the original date of Nov 10 owing to the discovery of hairline cracks
in the stabilising fins of the launch vehicle. This is the third and final crew of Skylab, part of the mission programme includes the study of Comet "Kohoutek". Rendezvous with Skylab took place 1973, Nov 16.89. EVA's from Pogue and Gibson on 22.11.1973 (6h
34m), Carr and Pogue on 25.12.1973 (7h 03m), Carr and Gibson on 29.12.1973
(3h 29m), and again Carr and Gibson on 03.02.1974 (5h 19m); world record
for individual time in space; until today longest manned flight of the USA.
 Skylab in orbit |
 View of Skylab 4 command module |
 Skylab 4 undocking |
 Carr and Pogue in Skylab |
Included observation and photography of Comet Kohoutek among
numerous experiments. Completed 1,214 Earth orbits and four EVAs totalling 22 hours, 13 minutes.
Increased manned space flight time record by 50%. Rebellion by crew against NASA Ground Control
overtasking led to none of the crew ever flying again.
SKYLAB STATISTICAL SUMMARY
ORBITAL
PARAMETERS 268.1 x 269.5 Miles
ORBITAL
INCLINATION 50 Degrees
ORBITAL
PERIOD APP. 93 MINUTES
DISTANCE/
ORBIT 26,575 MILES
DISTANCE
TRAVELED/Miles SL-2 SL-3 SL-4 TOTALS
(MANNED) 11.5 Million 24.5 Million 34.5 Million 70.5 Million Miles
MISSION
DURATION 28 DAYS 59 DAYS 84 DAYS 171 DAYS
49 MIN 11 HRS 9 MIN 01 HR 16 MIN 13 HRS 14 MIN
NUMBER
OF
REVOLUTIONS
(MANNED) 404 858 1214 2476
______________________________________________________________________
Skylab-4 MANHOUR UTILIZATION
MEDICAL ACTIVITIES 366.7 " 6.1 "
SOLAR OBSERVATIONS 519.0 " 8.5 "
EARTH RESOURCES 274.5 " 4.5 "
OTHER EXPERIMENTS 403.0 " 6.7 "
SLEEP, REST & OFF
DUTY 1846.5 " 30.5 "
PRE/POST SLEEP &
EATING 1384.0 " 23.0 "
HOUSEKEEPING 298.9 " 4.9 "
PHYSICAL TRAINING
& PERSONAL HYGIENE 384.5 " 6.4 "
OTHER (EVA) ETC 571.4 " 9.4 "
TOTAL: 6048.5 " 100 "
Skylab TOTALS FOR SL-2, SL-3 AND SL-4
MEDICAL ACTIVITIES 824.5 " 6.9 "
SOLAR RESOURCES 941.3 " 7.9 "
EARTH RESOURCES 569.4 " 4.8 "
OTHER EXPERIMENTS 712.0 " 6.0 "
SLEEP, REST & OFF
DUTY 3746.6 " 31.5 "
PRE/POST SLEEP &
EATING 2836.8 " 23.8 "
HOUSEKEEPING 560.9 " 4.7 "
PHYSICAL TRAINING
& PERSONAL HYGIENE 642.9 " 5.4 "
OTHER (EVA) ETC 1083.6 " 9.0 "
TOTAL: 11918.0 " 100 "
======================================================================
EXPERIMENT PERFORMANCE
SL-2 SL-3 SL-4 TOTALS
HOURS % HOURS % HOURS % HOURS %
SOLAR ASTRONOMY 117.2 29.9 305.1 28.2 519.0 33.2 941.3 31.0
EARTH OBSERVATIONS 71.4 18.2 223.5 20.6 274.5 17.6 569.4 18.8
STUDENT 3.7 0.9 10.8 1.0 14.8 0.9 29.3 0.9
ASTROPHYSICS 36.6 9.4 103.8 9.6 133.8 8.5 274.2 9.0
MAN/SYSTEMS 12.1 3.1 117.4 10.8 83.0 5.3 212.5 7.0
MATERIALS SCIENCE 5.9 1.5 8.4 0.8 15.4 1.0 29.7 1.0
LIFE SCIENCE 145.3 37.0 312.5 29.0 366.7 23.5 824.5 27.2
KOHOUTEK ----- ---- ----- ---- 156.0 10.0 156.0 5.1
TOTALS 392.2 100 1081.5 100 1563.2 100 3036.9 100
======================================================================
EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITIES
SL-2 SL-3 SL-4
STAND UP EVA 05-25-73
33 MIN
EVA 1 06-07-73 08-06-73 11-22-73
4 HRS 10 MIN 6 HRS 31 MIN 6 HRS 33 MIN
EVA 2 06-19-73 08-24-73 12-25-73
1 HR 37 MIN 4 HRS 30 MIN 6 HRS 51 MIN
EVA 3 09-22-73 12-29-73
2 HRS 42 MIN 3 HRS 30 MIN
EVA 4 02-03-74
5 HRS 19 MIN
TOTALS: 6 HRS 20 MIN 13 HRS 43 MIN 22 HRS 13 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 41 HRS 22 MIN
======================================================================
DATE RETURNED
SL-2 SL-3 SL-4 TOTALS
SOLAR OBSERVATIONS 28739 FRAMES 74942 FRMS 73366 FRMS 177047 FRMS
EARTH OBSERVATIONS
FILM 9846 FRAMES 16800 FRMS 19400 FRMS 46146 FRMS
MAGNETIC TAPE 45000 FT 93600 FT 100000 FT 238600 FT
======================================================================
SKYLAB SUMMARY (CONCLUDED)
EXPERIMENT SUMMARY PLANNED ACTUAL PERCENT DEVIATION
Earth Observation Passes 62 99 + 60 %
Solar Viewing Time 566 hrs 724.7 hrs + 27.5 %
Manned Solar Viewing Time 879.5 hrs 941.3 hrs + 7.1 %
Biomedical Investigations 701 922 + 32 %
Engineering/Tech Inves. 264 245 - 3.4 %
Materials/Space Manuf. Inves. 10 32 +220 %
Astrophysics Investigations 168 345 +105 %
Student Exp. Investigations 44 52 + 18 %
Science Demonstrations 26 11 - 42 %
(OPTIONAL SL-4 ONLY)
CONSUMABLE UTILIZATION
LAUNCH END OF MISSION CONSUMABLES USED
Water 6000 LBS 1710 LBS 4290 LBS
Oxygen 6100 LBS 2764 LBS 3336 LBS
Nitrogen 1540 LBS 607 LBS 933 LBS
TACS 80000 LBS-SEC 12488 LBS 67512 LBS-SEC
Note: over 12% of the TACS were used during the first 10 days of the
mission
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Launch of the Skylab 4/Saturn 1B space vehicle - Credit: NASA. |
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Astronaut Edward Gibson stands at Apollo Telescope Mount in Skylab - Credit: NASA. |
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Astronaut Gerald P. Carr flies the Astronaut Maneuvering Equipment in the OWS - Credit: NASA. |
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Skylab 4 crewmen passing trash bags in to the OWS waste disposal tank - Credit: NASA. |
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View of Skylab 4 Command/Service module in docked configuration - Credit: NASA. |
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Astronaut Gerald Carr during EVA on Skylab 4 - Credit: NASA. |
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View of a South Pacific storm photographed from Skylab space station - Credit: NASA. |
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View of portion of Queensland, Australia from Skylab space station - Credit: NASA |
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View of Melbourne, Australia as seen from Skylab space station - Credit: NASA. |
Astrophilately covers:
 Launch cancel KSC, signed by the crew. Credit: #402 |
 Prime Atlantic Recovery Ship "USS New Orleans", special cancel. Credit: #402 |
 Prime Recovery Ship "USS New Orleans" (LPH 11). |
 Second Recovery Ship "USS Beaufort" (ATS-2). |
 Second Recovery Ship "USS Tawakoni" (ATF 114). |
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Ref.: #1, #2, #3(SD70), #7, #8, #16, #307, #402 - update: 19.09.18
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